Mayo hero Cillian O'Connor blasts 4-9, but lapses at the back will worry James Horan

Cillian O'Connor blasted four goals as Mayo demolished Tipperary to advance to an All-Ireland final against Dublin

Mayo’s Cillian O'Connor celebrates scoring his second goal. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Mayo 5-20 Tipperary 3-13

Mayo advanced to another All-Ireland final on the back of a scoring show reminiscent of something Dublin would produce in the Leinster Championship — but what difference does it make?

Getting there is all that will matter for James Horan, and his Young Turks aren’t going to learn any other way. Back to full fitness, Cillian O’Connor’s 4-9 total indicates he has never been sharper going into a Championship game against Dublin, but Tipperary’s 10 goal chances will give the management more chills than the cold, dense Croke Park air did Sunday afternoon.

Bill Maher, left, and Alan Campbell of Tipperary. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Yes, Mayo could afford to be cavalier here and believe they would win this in a shootout, and yes, half of Tipperary’s opportunities came when the game was long decided — but that openness against the All-Ireland champions will be heavily punished.

Still, only the complexion of the scoreboard was altered by those fourth-quarter goals by substitute Paudie Feehan and Conor Sweeney. Mayo’s lead stretched to 21 points by the 50th minute, having led by 15 at half time, 4-12 to 1-5. And it wasn’t until the 59th minute that they registered the first of their three wides.

Their show was as professional as it was processional. Dublin were expected to beat Cavan as Mayo had been fancied to dismiss Tipperary, but whereas Saturday’s game was all about the winning margin, this clash had been expected to be a contest long into the second half. Instead, it was over before half time.

Tipperary’s Michael Quinlivan has an early shot at goal saved by Mayo goalkeeper David Clarke. Picture: INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Tipperary don’t need to look too far to discover where this fell apart. Prior to this game, their 2016 captain Peter Acheson said they lost to Mayo in that year’s All-Ireland semi-final because they didn’t play to their potential. Here, they were nowhere close to reaching it, conceding three goals as a result of turnovers.

If they gifted Mayo their two goals four years ago, and they giftwrapped them four here, their first coming after Kevin Fahey was turned over when Aidan O’Shea and Tommy Conroy linked up for O’Connor to spike the ball into the net in the 10th minute.

That goal came after Tipperary had twice failed to raise green flags at the other end. Admittedly, David Clarke did incredibly well to deny Michael Quinlivan in the fifth minute, but Conor Sweeney’s shot four minutes later was straight at the Mayo goalkeeper.

At least Brian Fox was able to dribble a drop-shot past Clarke straight after O’Connor’s goal following a mazy run. But Mayo were prepared to live dangerously, even though Lee Keegan looked frightfully suspect under the high ball.

Too dangerous, though, for Horan’s liking.

Mayo supporter Shane Fitzgerald, also know as the Mayo Bandit, awaits the arrival of the Mayo team outside Croke Park. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

“They [Tipperary’s early goal chances] were very poor from our point of view,” he said. “Those high balls in — but even the goal they got was a terrible goal to give away from our point of view. So we’ll look at that, for sure. In the second half as well, the game was gone and maybe we got a little bit lackadaisical for a while and gave away a few goal chances.”

Mayo’s reaction to Fox’s goal was to score four points, Kevin McLoughlin pulling the strings with aplomb in the middle, aided and abetted by Ryan O’Donoghue, who was much better here than in the Connacht championship.

They led 1-6 to 1-2 at the first water break, and McLoughlin was through on goal soon after, but leaned back for a point. After a Sweeney free, Mayo scored 1-3 without reply, O’Connor’s second goal coming in the 25th minute when Eoghan MacLaughlin ran forward from a Tipperary kickout and supplied O’Shea, whose quick hands set O’Connor free to arrow the ball past Evan Comerford.

The difference was 10 points when O’Connor sent over a free a minute later, and that jumped to 13 on the half-hour mark as Mayo penned in Tipperary players in the right corner, forcing Liam Casey to kick-pass to Comerford where O’Connor pounced to intercept and find the net.

Tipperary’s cause was unsalvageable when they tuned out for an O’Connor ’45 that dropped short just before the break, and younger brother Diarmuid palmed Mayo’s fourth goal.

Diarmuid O'Connor scores Mayo's fourth goal. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

With McLoughlin again providing, a slip by Bill Maher in the 45th minute allowed O’Connor inside for his fourth goal as Lee Keegan was off the field serving a black card timeout.

O’Connor’s personal tally alone would have won four of the previous seven All-Ireland semi-finals, the exceptions — not surprisingly — being the games won by Dublin.

A seventh goal opening for Mayo two minutes later, when Comerford stopped Conor Loftus, at least provided another point for O’Connor as Mayo’s strongest opponent seemed to be the fog.

Still, Tipperary looked for goals, and substitute Pádraig O’Hora did enough to halt fellow replacement Philip Austin’s 51st-minute effort.

A couple of minutes later, Steven O’Brien dragged a shot wide, although Feehan soon after finally breached Mayo’s last line of defence. Colin O’Riordan also went close in search of a green flag before Sweeney struck sweetly in the 70th minute.

“We probably had another seven goal chances,” rued Tipperary manager David Power.

“Good goal chances, they weren’t even half chances. Mayo probably have a lot of work to do probably on that.”

And doesn’t Horan know it — but there is still time for rehearsals as he returns with his cast to a familiar stage looking for what has become an all-too-unfamiliar outcome.

The 60-second report

IT MATTERED:

Cillian O’Connor’s third goal. By that stage, it was as if the freezing fog had made the pitch an ice rink and Tipperary were Bambis. They were petrified.

CAN'T IGNORE:

When two provincial champions are beaten by margins in the mid-teens, it reflects so poorly on the Championship. Even if this truncated competition is not the most reliable barometer, these results don’t say much about the general standard.

GOOD DAY:

With a mixture of pedigrees and pups, James Horan has won through to his third All-Ireland final. But he won’t be overly happy with this display. He regularly screamed at his charges in the second half for making basic errors, which if repeated on December 19 will duly be capitalised on by Dublin.

BAD DAY:

Tipperary gained some respectability with those two second-half goals but they were beaten before half-time. When there was good reason to believe they would make this a contest, for it to peter out so early was a major disappointment.

PHYSIO ROOM:

Eoghan McLaughlin must be a doubt for the final after hobbling off with a jarred knee before the second water break. Tipperary’s first goalscorer Brian Fox must have picked up a knock in the first half because he didn’t appear for the second half.

SIDELINE SMARTS:

Mayo were going to make the pitch as big as possible for Tipperary and it worked. They feasted on the Tipperary kick-outs, playing man-to-man football and committing several players to attack in the belief they were going to beat their opponents in a shoot-out.

BEST ON SHOW:

A fully-fit Cillian O’Connor was on his way to an All-Star before this game but he is almost a cert now. Kevin McLoughlin was immense in the middle. Colin O’Riordan never let up.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE:

A composed display by David Gough who had no question about allowing the Diarmuid O’Connor goal to stand. He was strong as usual on technical matters. Mayo’s powerful first half did make the game easier for him.

NEXT UP:

Including that 2016 All-Ireland final replay, Saturday week will be the fifth time Mayo and Dublin face off in a final since 2013.

Diarmuid O'Connor of Mayo beats team-mate Aidan O'Shea and Colin O'Riordan of Tipperary to catch the throw in for the start of the second half amid heavy fog at Croke Park. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Scorers for Mayo: C O’Connor (4-9, 0-6 frees); T Conroy (0-4, 1 mark); D O’Connor (1-0); D Coen (0-2); M Ruane, P Durcan, K McLoughlin, A O’Shea, C Loftus (0-1 each).

Scorers for Tipperary: C Sweeney (1-9, 0-8 frees); B Fox, P Feehan (1-0 each); C O’Riordan (0-2); S O’Brien, K Fahey (0-1 each).

MAYO: D Clarke; L Keegan, C Barrett, O Mullin; P Durcan, E McLaughlin, S Coen; C Loftus, M Ruane; D O’Connor, R O’Donoghue, K McLoughlin; C O’Connor, A O’Shea (c), T Conroy.

Subs for Mayo: J Flynn for D O’Connor (43); P O’Hora for C Barrett (47); M Plunkett for E MacLaughlin (inj 53); T Parsons for R O’Donoghue (55); D Coen for C O’Connor (66).

Black card: L Keegan (38-50).

TIPPERARY: E Comerford; A Campbell, J Feehan, C O’Shaughnessy; S O’Brien, L Casey; C O’Riordan, Conal Kennedy, B Fox; Colman Kennedy, C Sweeney (c), M Quinlivan.

Subs for Tipperary: E Moloney for L Casey, P Austin for B Fox (inj) (both h-t); P Feehan for R Kiely (53); D Brennan for J Feehan, L Boland for Colman Kennedy (both 56).

Referee: D Gough (Meath).